Showing papers in "Journal of Educational Psychology in 2005"

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivational Orientations in the Classroom: Age Differences and Academic Correlates

Abstract: Age differences in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and the relationships of each to academic outcomes were examined in an ethnically diverse sample of 797 3rd-grade through 8th-grade children. Using independent measures, the authors found intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to be only moderately correlated, suggesting that they may be largely orthogonal dimensions of motivation in school. Consistent with previous research, intrinsic motivation showed a significant linear decrease from 3rd grade through 8th grade and proved positively correlated with children’s grades and standardized test scores at all grade levels. Extrinsic motivation showed few differences across grade levels and proved negatively correlated with academic outcomes. Surprisingly few differences based on children’s sex or ethnicity were found. Causes and consequences of the disturbingly low levels of motivation for older, relative to younger, children are discussed.

A Prospective Study of Participation in Optional School Physical Education Using a Self-Determination Theory Framework.

Abstract: This study examined whether contextual and personal motivational variables, taken from selfdetermination theory, could predict student cognitive and affective experiences in school physical education (PE), as well as participation in optional PE in the following school year. Structural equation modeling analysis with a sample of 302 British adolescents showed that need support provided by the PE teachers was related to student need satisfaction, which in turn predicted self-determined motivation. The latter predicted directly various motivational indices and indirectly future participation in optional PE. Furthermore, multivariate analysis of variance tests showed that those who opted for PE (n 171), compared with those who did not (n 131), reported more positive motivational experiences in the previous school year. The findings call for the promotion of self-determined motivation in PE in order to enhance student positive experiences and participation rates.

Test Anxiety and Academic Performance in Undergraduate and Graduate Students.

Abstract: This study investigated the relationship between test anxiety and academic performance in 4,000 undergraduate and 1,414 graduate students and found a significant but small inverse relationship between test anxiety and grade point average (GPA) in both groups. Low-test-anxious undergraduates averaged a B+, whereas high-test-anxious students averaged a B. Low-test-anxious female graduate students had significantly higher GPAs than high-test-anxious female graduate students, but there were no significant GPA differences between low- and high-test-anxious male graduate students. Female undergraduates had significantly higher test anxiety and higher GPAs than male undergraduates, and female graduate students had significantly higher test anxiety and higher GPAs than male graduate students.

Experiences of Autonomy and Control Among Chinese Learners: Vitalizing or Immobilizing?.

Abstract: Various cross-cultural researchers state that autonomy is not valued in Eastern cultures and, hence, is unlikely to predict optimal study functioning and well-being. In contrast, self-determination theory (SDT; R. M. Ryan & E. L. Deci, 2000) maintains that autonomous or volitional study motivation is universally important and should predict better learning and higher well-being, even among Chinese students. Two studies were conducted to shed light on this controversial issue. Findings from both studies indicated that autonomous study motivation positively predicts adaptive learning attitudes, academic success, and personal well-being, whereas controlled motivation was associated with higher drop-out rates, maladaptive learning attitudes, and ill-being. In addition, Study 2 revealed that parental autonomy support versus psychological control is related to more adaptive learning strategies and higher well-being and that these effects were mediated by students' relative autonomy for studying. The importance of defining autonomy as an intraindividual, phenomenological experience versus an interpersonal, culturally bounded value is discussed.

The Prevention, Identification, and Cognitive Determinants of Math Difficulty.

Abstract: This study examined the efficacy of preventive 1st-grade tutoring in mathematics, estimated the prevalence and severity of mathematics disability, and explored pretreatment cognitive characteristics associated with mathematics development. Participants were 564 first graders, 127 of whom were designated at risk (AR) for mathematics difficulty and randomly assigned to tutoring or control conditions. Before treatment, all participants were assessed on cognitive and academic measures. Tutoring occurred 3 times weekly for 16 weeks; treatment fidelity was documented; and math outcomes were assessed. Tutoring efficacy was supported on computation and concepts/applications, but not on fact fluency. Tutoring decreased the prevalence of math disability, with prevalence and severity varying as a function of identification method and math domain. Attention accounted for unique variance in predicting each aspect of end-of-year math performance. Other predictors, depending on the aspect of math performance, were nonverbal problem solving, working memory, and phonological processing.

The Dilemma of Performance-Approach Goals: The Use of Multiple Goal Contexts to Promote Students' Motivation and Learning.

Abstract: The study examines the effects of a quasi-experimental classroom goal condition (mastery, performanceapproach, combined mastery/performance-approach) and entering personal goal orientations on motivation, emotional well-being, help seeking, cognitive engagement, and achievement for 237 upper elementary students during a 5-week math unit emphasizing small groups. The classroom goal condition had a significant effect on help seeking and achievement, with the combined condition showing the most beneficial pattern. Personal mastery goals were beneficial for 11 of 12 outcomes including achievement; personal performance-approach goals were detrimental for achievement and test anxiety and unrelated to the remaining outcomes. The effect of the classroom goal condition did not vary on the basis of entering personal goal orientations. Implications for the current achievement goal theory debate regarding multiple goals are discussed.

Native Spanish-speaking children reading in English : Toward a model of comprehension

Abstract: A structural equation model of second language (L2; English) reading comprehension was tested on a sample of 135 Spanish-speaking 4th-grade English-language learners (ELLs). The model included 2 levels: decoding and oral language. English decoding measures included alphabetic knowledge and fluency. English oral language measures included vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension. The model had reasonable goodness of fit. Decoding skills played a less predictive role than oral language proficiency. L2 listening comprehension made an independent, proximal contribution to L2 reading comprehension, whereas L2 vocabulary knowledge assumed both proximal and distal relationships with L2 reading comprehension. Results suggest that, given adequate L2 decoding ability, L2 vocabulary knowledge is crucial for improved English reading comprehension outcomes for Spanish-speaking ELLs.

Victimization in the Peer Group and Children's Academic Functioning.

Abstract: This short-term longitudinal investigation focused on associations between victimization in the peer group and academic functioning over a 1-year period. The authors used a multi-informant approach to assess peer victimization, symptoms of depression, and academic outcomes for 199 elementary schoolchildren (average age of 9.0 years; 105 boys, 94 girls). Frequent victimization by peers was associated with poor academic functioning (as indicated by grade point averages and achievement test scores) on both a concurrent and a predictive level. Additionally, the authors' analyses provided some evidence that peer group victimization predicts academic difficulties through the mediating influence of depressive symptoms. Taken together, these results highlight the potential negative impact of victimization by peers on children's academic functioning.

Latent Motivational Change in an Academic Setting: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study

Abstract: This research examined changes in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation during the transition from junior to senior high school as well as the impact of motivational changes on various educational consequences (i.e., dropout intentions, absenteeism, homework frequency, and educational aspirations). A total of 646 participants completed a questionnaire in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade.Using the true intraindividual change modeling technique (R.Steyer, I.Partchev, & M.J.Shanahan, 2000), the authors reached results revealing that students’ intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation decreased gradually from 8th to 10th grade.Furthermore, less educational adjustment was observed for students experiencing a decline in external regulation during the transitional year and students experiencing a decline in intrinsic motivation and identified regulation during the year after the transition.

Role of guidance, reflection, and interactivity in an agent-based multimedia game

Abstract: The authors investigated whether guidance and reflection would facilitate science learning in an interactive multimedia game. College students learned how to design plants to survive in different weather conditions. In Experiment 1, they learned with an agent that either guided them with corrective and explanatory feedback or corrective feedback alone. Some students were asked to reflect by giving explanations about their problem-solving answers. Guidance in the form of explanatory feedback produced higher transfer scores, fewer incorrect answers, and greater reduction of misconceptions during problem solving. Reflection in the form of having students give explanations for their answers did not affect learning. Experiments 2 and 3 showed that reflection promotes retention and far transfer in noninteractive environments but not in interactive ones unless students are asked to reflect on correct program solutions rather than on their own solutions. Results support the appropriate use of guidance and reflection for interactive multimedia games.

Direct and Indirect Longitudinal Effects of Parental Involvement on Student Achievement: Second-Order Latent Growth Modeling Across Ethnic Groups.

Abstract: The present study on the influence of parental involvement on students' academic achievement overcame limitations in current research by including simultaneous considerations of multidimensional, longitudinal, mediational, and ethnic factors. Results indicated (a) significant ethnic differences in the direct effects of parental involvement on academic achievement; (b) consistent indirect effects, mediated by student educational aspiration, across all 4 ethnic groups for initial status and subsequent academic growth; (c) consistent indirect effects, mediated by student locus of control, across all 4 ethnic groups for initial achievement status only; and (d) greater parental involvement. in terms of communication and educational aspiration for children to enhance students' educational aspiration and students' locus of control.

Perceived autonomy support in physical education and leisure-time physical activity : A cross-cultural evaluation of the trans-contextual model

Abstract: This study tested the replicability and cross-cultural invariance of a trans-contextual model of motivation across 4 samples from diverse cultures. The model proposes a motivational sequence in which perceived autonomy support (PAS) in physical education (PE) predicts autonomous motivation, intentions, and behavior in a leisure-time (LT) physical activity context. High-school pupils from Britain, Greece, Poland, and Singapore completed measures of PAS and autonomous motives in a PE context. Goodfitting path-analytic models supported the main hypotheses of the trans-contextual model in the British, Greek, and Singaporean samples. PAS in PE had significant total effects on autonomous motives in LT, except in the Polish sample. The effect of autonomous motives in LT on physical activity intentions and behavior was mediated by theory of planned behavior constructs in all samples. Results supported the main hypotheses of the trans-contextual model across cultures, although the effect of PAS was not pervasive in the Polish sample.

Kindergarten Disruptive Behaviors, Protective Factors, and Educational Achievement by Early Adulthood.

Abstract: This study examined whether 2 aspects of disruptive behaviors (i.e., hyperactivity-inattention and aggressiveness-opposition) observed in kindergarten predict noncompletion of high school by early adulthood. Also investigated was whether other personal characteristics such as anxiety or prosociality as well as parent child-rearing attitudes and teacher management style exert a compensatory or protective role with respect to these predictive links. A community sample of 4,330 children participated in this study. Results showed that hyperactivity-inattention made a stronger contribution to predicting noncompletion of high school than did aggressiveness-opposition. However, prosociality and 2 parental child-rearing aspects (i.e., pleasure and discipline) played a compensatory role in this process. Theoretical and preventive implications of these results are stressed in the discussion.

Effects of Historical Reasoning Instruction and Writing Strategy Mastery in Culturally and Academically Diverse Middle School Classrooms.

Abstract: Seventy 8th-grade students (including talented writers, those with average ability, and students in need of special education services) participated in an integrated social studies and language arts unit designed to promote historical understandings and argumentative writing skills. The historical reasoning instruction lasted 12 days, and the writing instruction lasted 10 days. Students applied historical inquiry strategies when reading documents related to westward expansion and learned to plan argumentative essays related to each historical event. Results indicate that in comparison to 62 students in a control group who did not receive either form of instruction, students who demonstrated mastery of the target strategies during instruction wrote historically more accurate and more persuasive essays regardless of their initial learning profile.

Regulation of Achievement Goals: The Role of Competence Feedback.

Abstract: Two studies examined the degree to which pursuit of achievement goals is regulated in response to ongoing competence feedback. In Study 1, conducted in a college classroom, goal pursuit remained largely stable throughout the semester, yet poor exam performance predicted a significant decrease in mastery goal and performance-approach goal pursuit and an increase in performance-avoidance goal pursuit. In Study 2, conducted in a laboratory, negative feedback reduced participants' mastery goal pursuit. In addition, both studies showed unique benefits of 2 goals: The performance-approach goal predicted success on exams (Study 1) and a novel activity (Study 2), and the mastery goal predicted higher interest in both studies. Implications of achievement goal regulation for both theory and research methodology are discussed.

Small Classes in the Early Grades, Academic Achievement, and Graduating From High School

Abstract: The purpose of this investigation was to address three questions about the long-term effects of early school experiences: (a) Is participation in small classes in the early grades (K–3) related to the likelihood that a student will graduate from high school? (b) Is academic achievement in the early grades related to high school graduation? (c) If class size in K–3 is related to high school graduation, is the relationship attributable to the effect of small classes on students’ academic achievement and the subsequent effect of achievement on graduation? This study is unique in several ways. Although the relationship of class size with achievement and behavior has been documented elsewhere, no formal examination of early class sizes and graduating or dropping out 6 to 9 years later has been published previously. Also, the study was based on an extraordinary database—a large sample of students followed for 13 years, 1 with norm-referenced and criterion-referenced achievement tests administered annually and graduation/dropout information collected from official school and state records.

Bilingualism, Language Proficiency, and Learning to Read in Two Writing Systems

Abstract: Two hundred and four 5- and 6-year-olds who were monolingual English-, bilingual English-Chinese-, or Chinese-speaking children beginning to learn English (2nd-language learners) were compared on phonological awareness and word decoding tasks in English and Chinese. Phonological awareness developed in response to language exposure and instruction but, once established, transferred across languages for both bilinguals and 2nd-language learners. In contrast, decoding ability developed separately for each language as a function of proficiency and instruction in that language and did not transfer to the other language. Therefore, there was no overall effect of bilingualism on learning to read: Performance depended on the structure of the language, proficiency in that language, and instructional experiences with that writing system. These results point to the importance of evaluating the features of the languages and instructional context in which children become biliterate.

Reflected Appraisals, Academic Self-Perceptions, and Math/Science Performance During Early Adolescence

Abstract: The authors tested a model of the relations among adolescents' perceptions of parents', teachers', and classmates' support for, valuing of, and beliefs about their competence in math/science; adolescents' own academic self-perceptions concerning math/science; and their academic performance. The sample included 378 middle school students; 65% were Latino, and 21% were European American. Reflected appraisals of adults' beliefs concerning both the importance of and students' competence in math/science, as well as perceived support, predicted students' own self-perceived importance, competence, scholastic behavior, and performance in these courses. Latino students reported lower mean levels of perceived competence than did European American students (controlling for maternal education). Findings have important implications for understanding achievement socialization in ethnically diverse populations.

The Effects of Goal Instructions and Text on the Generation of Counterarguments During Writing.

Abstract: The authors investigated ways of encouraging students to consider more counterarguments when writing argumentative texts. One hundred eighty-four undergraduates wrote essays on TV violence. In Experiment 1, students given specific goals generated more counterarguments and rebuttals than controls. In Experiment 2, some participants were provided with a text outlining arguments/counterarguments; some were also asked to write a persuasive letter. Prior attitudes toward the topic were also measured. Persuasion instructions negatively affected and text (without persuasion instructions) positively affected counterargumentation and the overall quality of arguments. Text was only effective, however, for students with less extreme prior attitudes. The danger of using persuasion goals and the advantages of using more specific goals (with text) are discussed.

Achievement Goals, Performance Contingencies, and Performance Attainment: An Experimental Test

Abstract: This research examines the effect of achievement goals on performance attainment and the moderating role of performance contingencies. Results from 3 experiments strongly support the authors' hypotheses. Performance-avoidance goals undermined performance relative to performance-approach and mastery goals, regardless of contingency condition. Performance-approach goals had a more positive effect on performance than did mastery goals in the presence, but not in the absence, of a contingency. Furthermore, the presence of a contingency accentuated the effects of performance-based goals on performance and had little impact on the effect of mastery goals on performance. These results speak directly to a current conundrum in the achievement goal literature and highlight the need for a rigorous, systematic examination of the link between achievement goals and performance that takes into consideration features of the achievement task, context, and situation.

Phonological Processing Skills and Early Reading Abilities in Hong Kong Chinese Kindergarteners Learning to Read English as a Second Language.

Abstract: The present study focused on two research questions related to early reading abilities among Hong Kong beginning readers. First, how do Chinese native language phonological processing skills predict reading acquisition in both Chinese and English as a second language in young children? Second, to what extent are these native language phonological processing skills bidirectionally associated with reading in Chinese and English as a second language? Our study design emerged primarily as a result of two others, one focused on phonological processing skills and Chinese character recognition in Chinese kindergarteners (McBride-Chang & Ho, 2000a) and one on transfer of phonological processing skills from Chinese to English word recognition in older children (Gottardo, Yan, Siegel, & Wade-Woolley, 2001).

Goal Orientation, Academic Achievement, and Depression: Evidence in Favor of a Revised Goal Theory Framework

Abstract: The objective of this investigation was to evaluate and expand the goal-orientation model of depression vulnerability proposed by B. M. Dykman (1998), which posits that a performance orientation creates a vulnerability to depression through repeated failure. This hypothesis was tested in 5 studies with students in Grades 5 and 6. A performance-approach goal orientation was associated positively with achievement, effort, and persistence and negatively with anxiety and depression. Stress and causal components of the theory were supported by results of structural equation modeling, which suggested that negative affect, low achievement, and depression are correlates of performance-avoidance goals. Empirical evidence supported the hypothesis that early negative effects of a performance-approach orientation may be due to the presence of avoidance motivation. Findings suggest that dichotomizing performance goal orientations is instrumental to a sound understanding of motivation, achievement-related processes, and depression.

Individual Differences in Absolute and Relative Metacomprehension Accuracy.

Abstract: The authors investigated absolute and relative metacomprehension accuracy as a function of verbal ability in college students. Students read hard texts, revised texts, or a mixed set of texts. They then predicted their performance, took a multiple-choice test on the texts, and made posttest judgments about their performance. With hard texts, students with lower verbal abilities were overconfident in predictions of future performance, and students with higher verbal abilities were underconfident in judging past performance. Revised texts produced overconfidence for predictions. Thus, absolute accuracy of predictions and confidence judgments depended on students' abilities and text difficulty. In contrast, relative metacomprehension accuracy as measured by gamma correlations did not depend on verbal ability or on text difficulty. Absolute metacomprehension accuracy was much more dependent on types of materials and verbal skills than was relative accuracy, suggesting that they may tap different aspects of metacomprehension.

Differential Profiles of Students Identified by Their Teacher as Having Avoidant, Appropriate, or Dependent Help-Seeking Tendencies in the Classroom.

Abstract: In Study 1, teachers identified 6th-grade students (N = 844) as having 1 of 3 help-seeking behavioral tendencies in the classroom: avoidant, appropriate, or dependent. More students were identified as having appropriate (65%) than avoidant (22%) or dependent (13%) help-seeking tendencies. Student self-reports of help avoidance were in line with teacher reports. In Study 2, students displaying different help-seeking tendencies in math class differed from each other in self-reported motivational, affective, relational, and achievement-related ways. In general, avoidant help seekers had a more maladaptive profile compared with appropriate help seekers. In general, dependent help seekers had an adaptive profile regarding social relationships (similar to appropriate help seekers) but a maladaptive profile regarding anxiety, academic efficacy, and achievement (similar to avoidant help seekers).

The Effects of Peer-Assisted Sentence-Combining Instruction on the Writing Performance of More and Less Skilled Young Writers.

Abstract: Mastering sentence-construction skills is essential to learning to write. Limited sentence-construction skills may hinder a writer's ability to translate ideas into text. It may also inhibit or interfere with other composing processes, as developing writers must devote considerable cognitive effort to sentence construction. The authors examined whether instruction designed to improve sentence-construction skills was beneficial for more and less skilled 4th-grade writers. In comparison with peers receiving grammar instruction, students in the experimental treatment condition became more adept at combining simpler sentences into more complex sentences. For the experimental students, the sentence-combining skills produced improved story writing as well as the use of these skills when revising.

Creativity and Occupational Accomplishments Among Intellectually Precocious Youths: An Age 13 to Age 33 Longitudinal Study.

Abstract: This study tracks intellectually precocious youths (top 1%) over 20 years. Phase 1 (N 1,243 boys, 732 girls) examines the significance of age 13 ability differences within the top 1% for predicting doctorates, income, patents, and tenure at U.S. universities ranked within the top 50. Phase 2 (N 323 men, 188 women) evaluates the robustness of discriminant functions developed earlier, based on age-13 ability and preference assessments and calibrated with age-23 educational criteria but extended here to predict occupational group membership at age 33. Positive findings on above-level assessment with the Scholastic Aptitude Test and conventional preference inventories in educational settings generalize to occupational settings. Precocious manifestations of abilities foreshadow the emergence of exceptional achievement and creativity in the world of work; when paired with preferences, they also predict the qualitative nature of these accomplishments.

Expository Text Comprehension in the Primary Grade Classroom.

Abstract: This study investigates the effectiveness of an instructional program designed to teach 2nd graders how to comprehend compare-contrast expository text. Along with introducing new content (animal classification), the program emphasizes text structure via clue words, a sequence of questions, and a graphic organizer, and via the close analysis of specially constructed exemplar paragraphs. The authors compared the program with (a) more traditional instruction that focused only on the new content and (b) a no instruction control; 128 7- and 8-year-olds participated. Classroom teachers provided the instruction. The program improved students' ability to comprehend compare-contrast texts. Students were able to demonstrate transfer to uninstructed compare-contrast texts though not to text structures other than compare-contrast. Moreover, the text structure instruction did not detract from their ability to learn new content. The results provide evidence, heretofore lacking, that explicit instruction in comprehension is feasible and effective as early as the 2nd grade.

The Effects of Readers' Misconceptions on Comprehension of Scientific Text

Abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of readers' misconceptions on text compre- hension. College students with misconceptions in science were asked to read and recall a text that contradicted their misconceptions. Students with no misconceptions served as the control group. Both online (think-aloud, reading times) and offline (recall) measures were obtained. The results suggest that readers' misconceptions often do not affect the online processes themselves but do influence the content of those processes and, consequently, the offline memory representation for the text after reading is completed. Much of the learning that takes place in and out of schools is based on successful comprehension of texts. Readers actively construct a memory representation of the text that critically de- pends on their interpretation in light of prior knowledge. The success of the comprehension process depends on the integration of readers' prior knowledge with textual information (Goldman & Bisanz, 2002; Kintsch, 1988, 1998; van den Broek, Virtue, Ever- son, Tzeng, & Sung, 2002). The powerful effects of readers' prior knowledge in text comprehension have been documented early on (Bartlett, 1932), resulting in a large body of literature indicating that prior knowledge increases memory of texts for both young and adult readers (e.g., Chiesi, Spilich, & Voss, 1979; Dochy, Segers, & Buehl, 1999; Means & Voss, 1985; Recht & Leslie, 1988). The role of inaccurate prior knowledge, however, has received far less attention despite the fact that readers with inaccurate knowledge are the default case rather than the exception (Driver, Squires, Rushworth, & Wood-Robinson, 1994). Our aim in this article is to explore the effects of inaccurate prior knowledge on text compre- hension, focusing both on the final product of reading a text and on the actual processes that take place during reading and lead to this product. To assess the effects of prior knowledge on text comprehension, one must consider both offline products and online processes (Just

Development of individual differences in reading : Results from longitudinal studies in english and finnish

Abstract: The authors examined individual differences in reading development in English and Finnish. English-speaking Canadian children were assessed once per year in Grades 1-5, and Finnish children were assessed twice per year in Grades 1-2. Results from latent growth curve and simplex analyses showed that initial status was generally negatively associated with subsequent growth and that, although stable, individual differences were more likely to significantly decrease than to increase across the measurement points. Growth mixture models identified multiple groups of children whose reading development followed distinct patterns. The results indicate that it is possible for educational systems to significantly reduce individual differences in basic reading skills during early reading development.

Achievement-Based Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation: A Test of Cognitive Mediators

Abstract: This study assessed how rewards impacted intrinsic motivation when students were rewarded for achievement while learning an activity, for performing at a specific level on a test, or for both. Undergraduate university students engaged in a problem-solving activity. The design was a 2 2 factorial with 2 levels of reward in a learning phase (reward for achievement, no reward) and 2 levels of reward in a test phase (reward for achievement, no reward). Intrinsic motivation was measured as time spent on the experimental task and ratings of task interest during a free-choice period. A major finding was that achievement-based rewards during learning or testing increased participants’ intrinsic motivation. A path analysis indicated that 2 processes (perceived competence and interest–internal attribution) mediated the positive effects of achievement-based rewards in learning and testing on intrinsic motivation. Findings are discussed in terms of the cognitive evaluation, attribution, and social–cognitive theories.